Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
ZIFA has embarked on a nationwide rural constituency grassroots outreach programme aimed at tapping into the suppressed rural talent.
Chibuwe in Manicaland province was the outreach programme’s first port of call, with Zifa technical director Wilson Mutekede visiting the area and handing over football equipment to community teams in the constituency.
“The Zifa rural constituency grassroots programme is targeting the rural areas only. Basically, what we are doing is travelling around rural areas in the country donating football equipment. It is our conviction as Zifa that rural areas are places that have remained neglected in terms of talent identification and football development,” said Zifa communications and competitions officer Xolisani Gwesela.
He said rural communities had been overlooked in development programmes and they were trying to change this via the outreach project.
“In the past, only urban communities have been benefiting from our programmes, hence we have decided to go rural this time around. We want to ensure that football spreads to all rural areas and we want these places to produce the next (Marvelous) Nakamba and the next Neymar.
“We want competitions in rural communities to be modelled along with modern football trends. Our conviction as Zifa is that there is a lot of talent in rural areas and we want to tap into it through this programme.
“We want rural clubs to be registered by the Zifa system so that players they produce can be transferred to other leagues and the clubs’ benefit. We also want to train referees and coaches so that we have a full football portfolio in these communities.”
Zifa says the commencement of provincial junior leagues tops its priority when the Covid-19 restrictions are further relaxed.
The association was set to launch junior football leagues around the country last year as part of its efforts to ramp up development of the game, but was halted by the suspension of all sporting activities when the first lockdown was imposed in March last year.
It was set to launch Under-15 leagues that would be under all the association’s provincial structures.
There has been no juniors’ football in over one year, raising concerns that the country could lose a lot of talent, as promising players dump the game for other alternatives.
Zifa, however, insists that plans to establish provincial leagues are still on course.
Online Reporter